Welcome Guest! If you are already a member of the BMW MOA, please log in to the forum in the upper right hand corner of this page. Check "Remember Me?" if you wish to stay logged in.

We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMWMOA forum provides.
Why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on
the forum, the club magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMWMOA offers?Want to read the MOA monthly magazine for free? Take a 3-month test ride of the magazine; check here for details.

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You will need to join the MOA before you can post: click this register link to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

NOTE. Some content will be hidden from you. If you want to view all content, you must register for the forum if you are not a member, or if a member, you must be logged in.

Last Thursday when Barley and I set out from Vermont the only certainty was that conditions would change and I would have to be responsible (for both of us) in the choices I made. I most certainly wish it was cooler, but having prepared for every contingency I could think of, we're ready and are closing in on Sedalia.

Being an early riser by nature, on this trip I find myself waking up at 3:30 and on the road by 5:00. It's actually quite pleasant, though the scenery is hard to make out till the sun comes up. About 9:00 we refuel, and I buy a 5# bag of ice. My camelback and Barley's are filled, and the extra goes into a small Igloo cooler. As mine melts I drink it. Barley lays on his to keep cool. We stop every hour to hydrate, using the melting ice in the cooler. I spritz both of us before getting underway again to get some evaporative cooling going. In the midday heat we find a stream and pull over. Today Barley enjoyed swimming in the 55F water of Mammoth Springs, Arkansas, with a family of tourists from Oklahoma. At the rally, in the heat of the day, we'll be inside the air conditioned vendor buildings.

My one concession to the heat is that at night we're staying in an air conditioned hotel. We were planning on camping on site, but I can't ask my dog to do that in these conditions. My point is if you want to go, make some decisions and alternative arrangements. It's insane to ride in the midday heat and humidity, so have other plans for those hours.

My hotel, btw, is in Warsaw MO, about 34 miles south of the rally and right on Lake of the Ozarks (another option for the midday heat). There were two hotels in that area with a few vacancies if anybody is looking.

Why don't they just hold the Rally in the fall or spring? Is this the same brain trust that decided suspenders and trucker hats would fly off the shelf?

It would not be the MOA way of doing thing's if it was not held in the month of July. I have already done my 100 degree riding this year, so I will not be traveling to this rally. So call me wimp because I will not be there no matter how many air condition buildings they have on the grounds.

The subject of moving the rally dates to something more reasonable "Temp "wise was beat to death after last year.

My thinking is that since we do have all this global warming talk in effect , maybe soon we will be discussing holding the national in November.

If the average age of the MOA members is as old as i think it is , and most of us are retired or unemployed anyway, why not move it to later or earlier in the year as the location and temperatures dictate.

As I get it now the rally is like a moveable feast with a different geographical location every year . I think it's worth looking at.

Yes i get it that we need this huge space to accomodate all the events , vendors and the multitudes of thousands who attend, but there has to be an alternative to 100 degree heat and the attendant misery.

What do the Goldwing folks do ?
They number in the bajillions and they have big rallies all the time ?

Last Thursday when Barley and I set out from Vermont the only certainty was that conditions would change and I would have to be responsible (for both of us) in the choices I made. I most certainly wish it was cooler, but having prepared for every contingency I could think of, we're ready and are closing in on Sedalia.

Being an early riser by nature, on this trip I find myself waking up at 3:30 and on the road by 5:00. It's actually quite pleasant, though the scenery is hard to make out till the sun comes up. About 9:00 we refuel, and I buy a 5# bag of ice. My camelback and Barley's are filled, and the extra goes into a small Igloo cooler. As mine melts I drink it. Barley lays on his to keep cool. We stop every hour to hydrate, using the melting ice in the cooler. I spritz both of us before getting underway again to get some evaporative cooling going. In the midday heat we find a stream and pull over. Today Barley enjoyed swimming in the 55F water of Mammoth Springs, Arkansas, with a family of tourists from Oklahoma. At the rally, in the heat of the day, we'll be inside the air conditioned vendor buildings.

My one concession to the heat is that at night we're staying in an air conditioned hotel. We were planning on camping on site, but I can't ask my dog to do that in these conditions. My point is if you want to go, make some decisions and alternative arrangements. It's insane to ride in the midday heat and humidity, so have other plans for those hours.

My hotel, btw, is in Warsaw MO, about 34 miles south of the rally and right on Lake of the Ozarks (another option for the midday heat). There were two hotels in that area with a few vacancies if anybody is looking.

Best to all, no matter which way you decide to go.

Pete - I'll probably be up riding early to see the sights. If you're up for meeting up near the Lake, send me a PM. I'm camping with the Chartered Clubs, but I only have to be responsible for myself.

I'll be parked with the Vermonters in the Chartered Club area. I say that out loud because I promised many a shot of 15 year old Glenfiddich (a toast to a wonderful dog by that name we lost to cancer several years ago), and they all need to know where to find me at the end of the day.

We have Water Oasis duty first shift, so morning rides are out for us. After the vendors and the how to sessions, and the obligatory drinks (non-alc for me since I'll be riding back to the hotel each evening) I might be game.

I'd offer you a sleep over but my room has one bed and I don't know you that well.

I'll be parked with the Vermonters in the Chartered Club area. I say that out loud because I promised many a shot of 15 year old Glenfiddich (a toast to a wonderful dog by that name we lost to cancer several years ago), and they all need to know where to find me at the end of the day.

We have Water Oasis duty first shift, so morning rides are out for us. After the vendors and the how to sessions, and the obligatory drinks (non-alc for me since I'll be riding back to the hotel each evening) I might be game.

I'd offer you a sleep over but my room has one bed and I don't know you that well.

Pete - I'll look for you - hard to miss your rig. I'm with the BMW Riders Club of WNY - we'll be rolling in after 6pm on Thursday. I'll be on a blue and white 1150GS - another tough to miss bike.

Why?

How could the MOA not know that it would be a blast furnace in Missouri in july? Even if the temps. were normal it would be 90 feels like 100 plus degrees. So next year we go back to where we were 3 years ago, why? I'm Canadian but when I look at a map of the states it looks big. But seriously when do we admit we've changed the climate and now we've got to live with it. So if the national rally is to continue to be held annually the date must be moved, higher elevations and sites near large bodies of water (great lakes, oceans) should be the first picks. To all those going this year be aware you are going into a hostile environment, no joke, use caution. All the best to my fellow riders.

Gonna make the trip this year even though the heat will be unbearable! Hopefully getting half the trip done in the morning before it is off the scale. Thank goodness for a friend 20 miles away with a new 5th wheel. Should be there when we arrive. Otherwise we would definitely be out this year too.

How could the MOA not know that it would be a blast furnace in Missouri in july? Even if the temps. were normal it would be 90 feels like 100 plus degrees. So next year we go back to where we were 3 years ago, why? I'm Canadian but when I look at a map of the states it looks big. But seriously when do we admit we've changed the climate and now we've got to live with it. So if the national rally is to continue to be held annually the date must be moved, higher elevations and sites near large bodies of water (great lakes, oceans) should be the first picks. To all those going this year be aware you are going into a hostile environment, no joke, use caution. All the best to my fellow riders.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

I saw the handwriting on the wall a year ago and had central air installed at my house.

Lake Michigan beckons

My hotel reservation in Sedalia was cancelled on me, which I'm taking as a sign. Given the weather forecast, I'm leaving tomorrow for a circle around Lake Michigan instead of Sedalia. I hope all those that attend the rally have a great time and stay hydrated!